


Catching Wooloo

by trikstergodess



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Awkward Crush, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Light Angst, Mostly Canon Compliant, One-Sided Attraction, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Post-Canon, Spoilers, Unrequited Crush, the angst tag probably wasn't necessary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22030843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trikstergodess/pseuds/trikstergodess
Summary: “A crush is a feeling you catch. You get a soft, fuzzy, round feeling when you see them. They make you very happy," Leon explained.“Like Wooloo!” his little brother shouted, jumping to his feet.“No, that’s not-- well, okay, from how I described it I guess that conclusion makes sense, but--” Leon stammered, but Hop was already turning to Gloria. The little girl looked up at him with a sort of awe and admiration.“Gloria! I’m gonna catch Wooloo for you!” Hop declared, and Leon couldn’t find it in himself anymore to correct the six-year-old. This was far too adorable.
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Mary | Marnie, onesided Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 18
Kudos: 167





	Catching Wooloo

Gloria and Hop were around the age of six when they found Leon pacing and rambling about his newfound feelings about his former rival Sonia. They sat on the floor before the sofa watching as the teen paced in front of them, muttering about all sorts of things that they didn’t entirely understand. Everything about Sonia was tossed about; the way her hair curved, the ocean color of her eyes, her impeccable fashion sense. The two children didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I think I have a crush,” Leon finally admitted aloud, to which Hop innocently piped up,

“What’s a ‘crush’?”

Leon stiffened, finally noticing his little brother and his friend watching them from the floor. His cheeks colored. Leon pulled his cap down and cleared his throat.

“Well? What is it?” Hop asked again. Gloria didn’t seem to contribute to the interrogation, but it was obvious from the burning in her eyes that she harbored the same curiosity. Despite his chagrin, Leon couldn’t find it in him to deny them. With a resigned sigh and a soft smile, he sat on the floor in front of them to explain.

“Well, a crush is when you feel… something special for someone else,” Leon said. Hop perked up.

“Like how I feel about you!” he said, and Leon quickly shook his head.

“No, no! Not like that! You like me like a brother, and a crush is something different,” he quickly explained. “It’s a feeling you catch. You get a soft, fuzzy, round feeling when you see them. They make you very happy.”

“Like Wooloo!” Hop shouted, jumping to his feet. He held a Pokeball aloft like a prize. It was the only Pokeball in his possession, housing his dearest companion Pokemon that Leon had caught for him just two years ago.

“No, that’s not-- well, okay, from how I described it I guess that conclusion makes sense, but--” Leon stammered, but Hop was already turning to Gloria. The little girl looked up at him with a sort of awe and admiration.

“Gloria! I’m gonna catch Wooloo for you!” Hop declared, and Leon couldn’t find it in himself anymore to correct Hop. This was far too adorable. At the declaration, Gloria seemed to brighten.

“I’ll catch Wooloo for you, too!” she shouted, getting to her feet as well. The two of them ran outside to bother the poor wild Pokemon down the road, leaving Leon alone with his amusement.

They were nine years old, now, and bickering on the floor in front of Hop’s television as Hop struggled to fight the boss monster in his video game. They made for an interesting pair; Hop approached the game with brute force and impulse while Gloria had a strategic mind and a steel trap memory of every enemy they’d encountered before this point.

“No, don’t try shooting the eye now, he’s gonna fire at you before you get a good aim!” she practically shouted, but it was too late. Before she could finish her explanation, there was a dreaded beep from the boss and a beam of light. Hop’s character groaned in pain and collapsed. The words “game over” mocked them over a screen of black. Hop groaned and set the controller down on the floor between them before throwing himself back to stare at the ceiling. Gloria nicked the controller while he was down and restarted the game from the last save. Hop lifted his head to watch as she started the boss fight over again.

He was sitting upright again as Gloria managed to whittle the boss’ health to the halfway point and the boss started its second phase. When the beeping noise sounded, the character on the screen swung his shield. The beam was deflected back into the boss’ face. Gloria tossed the controller back to Hop as the monster fell with a crash. Hop caught it and was back to attacking the monster ruthlessly in a matter of seconds.

“Careful Gloria, or I might catch Wooloo for you,” he told her, and she snorted in response.

They were ten, and Hop was trapped in his own head. They were still early into their Gym Challenge and Gloria was surpassing him by leaps and bounds. This alone was not upsetting to Hop, as he always knew her intellect would carry her far in the challenge. It was their thrice-forsaken rival in the challenge, Bede, that bothered Hop beyond reason. He was nothing but an arrogant prick, albeit a strong one. No matter how Hop organized his team, both Gloria and Bede blew past him like he was hardly an obstacle at all. At least Gloria was always so infuriatingly sweet after she destroyed his team. Bede was biting and harsh and spared no second thought to kicking Hop while he was down. Hop felt nothing but impish glee as Gloria almost instantly kicked Bede’s arse after he had defeated her best friend.

She was beautiful when she battled. Hop considered himself her biggest fan and cheered for her the loudest as she defeated every gym leader. His heart always sank when any attack successfully fainted one of Gloria’s Pokemon and it practically burst with joy and pride when she landed critical hits in retaliation. Even when she fought against him, he found himself awash with awe at her form and strategy. It was almost the same awe he felt when he watched Leon battle, but even that felt different from how he felt regarding his rival.

Perhaps it was fitting, then, that he finally came to a conclusion as Gloria defeated him one final time for the Semifinals: he’d caught Wooloo for her.

It was a bittersweet conclusion, at best. He knew she most certainly did not feel the same. He saw the way Gloria looked at their shared rival, Bede. Where Hop loathed the boy, Gloria seemed to care about him for some inexplicable reason. Bede was closer to a challenge for her than Hop was. Hop had been the one she voiced her concerns to when the prat had himself disqualified from the Gym Challenge. And Hop had a feeling Gloria had planned for Opal to find Bede when the two of them walked to Hammerlocke together. The most damning evidence that Gloria’s interests fell in Bede was almost immediately after the ceremony, when Bede interrupted to challenge her to one final battle. As soon as the prat had been defeated, and announced that he would take over Ballonlea Stadium, Gloria threw herself at their rival and wrapped her arms around him.

What hurt the most was the briefest of moments in which Bede’s arms wrapped around her waist just as strongly before Gloria was quickly shoved off with a shout. Hop felt his heart clench, but seeing Gloria’s bright smile when she caught up with him in the locker room later gave him a reassurance he could live with; he may not have her heart, but he was still her choice of best friend.

They were sixteen, and Hop had let his Wooloo go. He and Gloria and Bede and Marnie were on an awkward sort of double date; even after six years, Gloria and Bede still hadn’t made anything official between them. If Hop could claim to have defeated Bede in anything, it was officially getting himself a girlfriend. Admittedly, while the situation between his best friend and former rival had been funny for the first year, it was getting very awkward and irritating to watch the two of them dance around each other now. No matter how many times Hop has had to reassure Gloria that Bede would reciprocate her feelings if she confessed, the daft girl never did. Bede was no better, Marnie reported once. Hop’s girlfriend somehow found herself becoming the ear for the pink idiot to whine into about his former rival. It took a lot of coaxing for the two of them to organize this date, and Hop expected results by the end of the afternoon.

After lunch and a movie and some friendly battling, they were sitting somewhat peacefully in Hop’s campsite surrounded by their Pokemon teams. Hop tried not to shudder every time Bede’s precious Grimmsnarl made eye contact with him and dropped the ball it held at his feet. Gloria insisted the dark fairy type was a sweetheart, but Hop couldn’t help the fight or flight response that he had to suppress whenever it looked in his direction. Marnie patted his knee as Hop threw the ball as far away from himself as he possibly could and the Grimmsnarl bounded away. She continued to pat his knee after the threat was gone, and Hop realized it wasn’t an action of comfort, but to catch his attention. He turned.

Not too far away, Gloria and Bede seemed to be having a very intense conversation. Bede’s Hatterene loomed nearby. Hop’s heart clenched and he was about to stand up to interrupt the argument when Gloria suddenly shouted.

“I caught Wooloo for you!”

Everything came to a grinding halt. The camp had gone quiet. Hatterene lost interest, as the tension had dissipated almost instantly. Gloria turned beet red. Bede blinked. Marnie made a noise of confusion. Hop held his breath.

After a beat, Bede looked around himself before saying, almost too quiet for Hop to catch, “Okay. Where is it..?”

Marnie had to clap a hand over Hop’s mouth as he fell backwards howling with laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> I finished the main story of Shield today and I still have emotions about Bede's redemption arc.


End file.
